Anxiety levels in women attending a colposcopy clinic: a randomised trial of an educational intervention using video colposcopy.

A video colposcopy allows the real-time images viewed by the doctor performing the examination to be viewed by patients on a television monitor during the consultation. Eighty-one women (requiring either laser treatment or a normal recheck) were randomly assigned to either the video intervention group or the control group. A significant decrease in state anxiety was observed from one visit to the next in all patients (P = 0.000). This decrease in anxiety was significantly greater in the laser patients in the video colposcopy condition than patients in the control group for both groups of patients. Patients in the experimental groups also reported less pain than patients in the control conditions (P < 0.05). This benefit associated with video colposcopy was not observed on the second (treatment) visit. In conclusion, video colposcopy is a useful and time-efficient method that reduces patient anxiety and pain during examination visits, but not necessarily during visits where laser treatment is required.